The Bandana
by Fearlyss
Summary: How Luke acquired his precious bandana and discovered something interesting about the girl in the back of the classroom... Candace/Luke.


A thirteen year old boy with long, azure hair that fell messily into his brazen, gold eyes, shuffled along the dirt path of Garmon Mines. He yielded an axe in his left hand's grasp and it hung at his side as he drug it along the narrow road. The sun was hidden behind grayish clouds, a storm clearly on its way. His main goal was to reach home before it did.

He mused inwardly about the time that he'd spent chopping lumber in Fugue Forest. He was finally old enough (by his father's standards, at least) to venture off on his own and begin his 'apprenticeship', really all his father allowed him to do were deliveries and lumber gathering.

The boy didn't mind though. He, in fact, was rather enthusiastic about it. He couldn't wait to become a master carpenter just like his good, old dad. His golden eyes became hazy as he was lulled into yet another daydream of what his future would be like. So immersed in is ponderings that he didn't notice another figure walking towards him and smacked right into them.

Both toppled backwards clumsily. The boy's axe fell out of his grasp and skidded across the dirt. He rubbed his head, sitting up, and observed the stranger. It was one of his classmates, he could tell, but he didn't know her name. Her baby blue hair was familiar, as well as her sapphire eyes, and the faint blush spread across her cheeks was an ever present feature. "Sorry," he hoisted himself up to his feet and offered her a helping hand which she took immediately.

He recognized her now. She was the quiet girl who sat in the back of the classroom. He grinned, his friendly demeanor kicking in. "Hi! I'm Luke!" He blew a strand of hair out his eyes which only resulted in it falling back in place.

The girl smiled tentatively and looked downwards as she fiddled with her hands. "U-Um. I'm Candace." She shook his outward hand before pulling back quickly, her pale face reddening rapidly.

Luke picked up his axe and swung it over his shoulder. "We're in the same class, right?"

"I guess," she murmured quietly, not quite meeting his inquisitive gaze.

"So what brings you to Garmon Mines – "

"I wasn't finished with you, _sister_!"

Luke glanced up, curiously, and noticed that another classmate of his, Julius, was striding towards them with fervor. The other boy's lilac hair was pulled back into a hasty ponytail, strands of dyed pastel hair falling loosely in his face. He finally reached the pair, ignoring Luke completely, and faced Candace. "I wasn't finished speaking with you," he stated, the words reeking with frustration.

Candace granted Luke an apologetic smile before returning her attention to the infuriated lilac haired boy. "Well, _I_ was done listening."

Luke felt his lips twitch into a smile, surprised. He looked to Julius, who appeared just as stunned as he felt. He had always thought that she was quiet, and assumed, that she would merely blush and avert her gaze rather than join in the confrontation.

"I'm only trying to _help_ you, Candace," Julius replied in annoyance. He crossed his arms across his chest firmly. "If you keep denying my assistance, I may just give up entirely."

"Oh, please do."

Candace's eyes squinted to rival his ruby glare but she was clearly unpracticed in the art of intimidation because it didn't look fierce, it looked _cute_. Luke scratched the back of his head at the thought uncomfortably.

The only girl that he'd ever thought was cute before was Kathy and that was because all the other boys said so…

"Hmph. At least _I_ have a fashion sense."

Luke caught a glimpse of Julius' attire. He was wearing a red leather jacket, a purple undershirt, tight black pants, and what appeared to be heeled shoes. He wanted to make an objection however Candace beat him to it.

"_A_ fashion sense. Doesn't make it a good one."

Julius scowled deeply at this.

"Careful. Wouldn't want your lipstick to crease, would we?"

If Luke had a subtle bone in his body, he would have bothered to stifle his laughter, but as he didn't, he just laughed outwardly. Julius shot him a nasty glare which he pointedly ignored.

Candace wore an expression of pure vindication as they both watched Julius stomp in the other direction, angrily. She flushed brightly when she noticed Luke staring at her in amazement. "…W-What?"

"I didn't think of you as the type to stand up for yourself, that's all," Luke commented, oblivious to the affronted expression that flashed on her face for merely a second.

Candace looked back in the direction that Julius had stomped off. "I wasn't…too mean, was I?" She bit her lower lip, anxiously. "I…didn't mean to hurt his feelings…" Her eyes lowered to her ballet flats embarrassedly. "It's just…he's always bothering me about my clothes."

"What's wrong with your clothes?" Luke questioned, taking in her mainly all blue outfit. She wasn't very bold color wise but it suited her, he thought. Besides, blue was an awesomely extreme color!

Candace shrugged sadly. "He likes experimenting with colors and I…don't. Sorry," she smiled sheepishly up at Luke, "I didn't mean for you to get caught in the middle of that. And now I'm complaining…I'm sorry."

Luke shrugged and eyed the sky, warily. It wasn't raining yet but he had a sneaking suspicion that it would soon. "It's fine. It was kind of funny actually. And hey, you never answered my question. What are you doing in Garmon Mines?" He gazed at her expectantly.

"O-oh," her sapphire eyes widened. "Um. My grandmother sent me on a delivery actually…"

"Really?" Luke's permanent smile grew. "Pops sends me on deliveries all the time! Of course it's for furniture and stuff, but, that's kind of cool! What were you delivering?"

She stared at him blankly for a few moments. "O_-oh_!" Candace paused slightly before reaching into her cerulean backpack that she carried by the top strap. She popped her entire head into the bag in search of something specific. Finally, she pulled it out, with a shy smile.

Luke gazed at it. It was a white bandana with blue flames licking towards the edges precariously. "Oh man. That's extreme!" He unconsciously ran a hand through his unruly hair and eyed the accessory enviously. "Who's it for?"

"Julius."

His eyeballs nearly bugged out of his head and Candace giggled behind her hand at his reaction. "I'm only kidding. It's for you."

"Me?" Luke asked incredulously. "But why?"

She folded a strand of loose hair behind her ear nervously, "You said your name was Luke, r-_right_?"

"Yeah! That's me!"

"Well…" Candace bit her lip and studied the ground. "Somebody ordered it to be delivered to you for, er, your birthday."

"Today's not my birthday!" Luke blurted, even though he really wanted that bandana…_It must belong to another Luke_, he thought bitterly. _Wait – are there even any other Luke's on Castanet? _"

Candace faltered slightly. "B-But I'm s-sure they ordered it for you...Maybe I got it wrong..."

"Well," Luke considered, "If it said Luke than it must be mine!" He pumped his fist excitedly into the air and grinned maniacally. He took the bandana from her grasp and allowed his axe to fall back to the ground so he could adjust it over his wild hair. "How does it look?"

She flushed. "It's n-nice…"

"Did you happen to get who it's from?" He asked, excitedly. "I'd really like to thank them!"

"U-uh…No…I didn't."

Luke looked disappointed but grinned nonetheless. "Well, thanks for delivering it anyway! I'm super stoked to show Owen! Man, he'll be so jealous!"

Candace merely smiled to herself as he gathered his axe and walked away, sparing only an energetic wave over the shoulder, and that signature grin of his.

* * *

Luna ambushed her as soon as she entered Sonata Tailoring later that afternoon; in vain attempts to get herself dry from the downpour that encased the island with its merciless wrath. "So, did you do it?" The ten year old girl with curly pink hair placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, as if she expected her elder sister to chicken out or something.

Candace strolled over to the kitchen sink and wrung water out of her damp hair. Her cheeks tinged pink, "Yeah…I did."

Luna gave her a suspicious glance. "Did you tell him that you sewed it, _just for him_?"

"N-No," she admitted, ignoring her little sister's glare.

"Oh, Candace," Luna sighed exasperatedly. "Am I going to have to teach you about boys – _again_?"

Thirteen year old Candace wondered, as her sister thrust herself into a long lecture, how her ten year old sister had learned so much about boys…

**Author's Note: Yeah, so, I couldn't help myself! The idea of Candace being the one to give Luke his signature bandana has been floating in my head for a while now, I just couldn't figure out how to pull it off. Thus, I sat down and forced myself to at least try and came up with this. ****I also threw in some Luna because I think she's hilarious :P **

**Oh. And if Julius seems a little out of character, please tell me. I didn't mean to make him seem like such a jerk, honestly. **

**I really like our flamboyant friend ! ****HONEST ! **

**(Just not with Candace...) **


End file.
